Wimbledon took a lead through Marcus Browne in the 57th minute minute, only for the game to turn dramatically as the second half came to an end.

Two late penalties were awarded to Swindon — one for a foul on Harry Smith in the penalty area and another for a handball on the goal line — both converted by Kabongo Tshimanga, securing a comeback victory for the home side.

Jackson vented anger by what he perceived as inconsistent and erroneous calls by referee James Durkin, highlighting a specific incident where Harry Smith and Wimbledon’s Joe Lewis were involved in a physical exchange, with only one deemed a foul, resulting in a penalty for Swindon.

He also pointed to a handball call against John-Joe O’Toole, questioning its validity after an opponent allegedly barged into goalkeeper Owen Goodman without a foul being given.

The defeat was a blow to Wimbledon’s hopes of closing the gap in the League Two automatic promotion race, especially with other top teams like Walsall, Bradford, and Doncaster dropping points.

“Scandalous,”

“I don’t talk about referees – I like to talk about what we could have done better. There is stuff we could have done.

“We were good for maybe 25 minutes in the second half, but that’s not long enough in the game.

“That’s disappointing and we could have done better on that front.

“But the two incidents there are a joke. Harry Smith pulls Joe Lewis. Joe then gets a toe in, and one is deemed to be a foul, and the other isn’t.

“They then launch a ball and their lad drags Owen Goodman down – no foul is given.

“Then John Joe is down on the floor and the guy smashes the ball at him from two yards out and the referee gives handball.

“I can’t explain it. We’re a bit shell-shocked right now because we didn’t see the game panning out like that.

“For it to be taken away from us with a referee making decisions like that is tough to take.”

🗣️ REACTION FROM THE COUNTY GROUND 🏟️

Here’s what Johnnie Jackson had to say after tonight’s game against Swindon Town. #AFCW 🟡🔵 pic.twitter.com/sEa86plQj9

— AFC Wimbledon (@AFCWimbledon) April 1, 2025

“It is togetherness, and that is a wonderful feeling. When the fans get with the team and they are working as hard as that.

“I think that the biggest cheer all night was when Tshimanga ran down the far end and the bloke tried ushering it out, and he slid round him and it went for a throw-in. Our fans went mental.

“That is what it is all about. When you see them wear that shirt with pride and never give up and keep chasing. What more do you want?

“I thought Joe Westley battled, Glatz [Paul Glatzel] battled and fought – I thought that there could have been a few more free kicks, but that is what you want.

“They [the fans] are seeing that week in and week out and they are a part of it. That is the great thing.

“The celebration at the end, I couldn’t stop them [the staff]. They had all gone from my bench and the ones who had come off were down there.

“I was thinking ‘God, there are two and a half minutes left, you shouldn’t be doing that’ but you can’t stop that. That is wonderful.

“It is a togetherness and it is a pride.

“That is what I wanted. It is not about who is in front, it is a tug of war, and one minute you might be losing, but you are never giving in.

“You dig your feet in and you keep on fighting, and that is what we are doing every week.”

: Spot on description of what happened, but the question is why and what are we going to do to make sure it doesn’t keep happening? The penalties were harsh, but need to score more than one and not invite late pressure then those decisions can’t influence the game.

: Why no Q about our 2 cb on yellows and no sub with ball getting his shirt on to come on and sat back down. JJ and the team have got us in a great position but we’ve gone into free fall. Holloway 5 subs, we made 2 one in 90th minute. Experience counted tonight

: He knows his time is coming. Blaming the Ref 😂😂😂😂

: 2 wins in 10! You not going to ask about that? 11 goals in 10 games, you going to ask about that? Not making 2nd sub until 90th minute, you going to ask about that?

: Both pens were pens. Lewis was beaten to the ball by Smith and pulled him back. O’Toole moved his arm to stop the ball. Swindon got good balls into the box and their players got to those crosses. No excuses. Over 90 minutes, Swindon created more and better scoring chances.

: Watched the last 20 mins of this. Felt you were trying to hang on and inviting pressure. Both clear pens. I’d be gutted if we didn’t get them ( as happened v Crewe ). It’s still 3 from 6 for autos

: 20 good minutes out of 90 odd and then blame the ref for getting beat 🤣 Goodman was the only reason we didn’t go in 3 down at half time, realistically could of been 5 or 6.

: Boring football followed by boring interviews. I love football but this is draining. I cannot wait for the season to end. By the looks of our recent performances the squad are thinking likewise. Who if any will be around next season if we don’t go up?

: He’s hurting but in the cold light of day he’ll see that his inability to make timely substitutions cost us that game.

: Pathetic excuses yet again, no accountability or even lack of sub change tactics. We’re done, say bye to play-off places if we continue like that.

: “6 games to go” Bingo!!!! How about asking about lack of substitutions, negative tactics etc.

: We’ve gone from inviting teams to score against us to helping them do it! We’re playing like mid table, already on the beach.

: This is absolutely insane – the audacity to say that decisions were scandalous when we got *incredibly* lucky to have 10 men by the end is wild

: As a Swindon fan, out of the teams pushing to go up, I’d like to see Wimbledon get promoted. BUT… was this bloke watching the same game? Takes no responsibility for the loss and just shifts the blame onto the ref entirely. Weird interview that

: Smithy wants his shirt back!! That wasn’t one of your 21 fouls though?? We wanted to win more…

: Whether they were pens or not (second one wasn’t tbf) but Lewis and ootoole shouldn’t have been on the pitch as they were reckless and being dominated, we needed the calmness of ball and harbottle and

: The ref?! Come on Jackson have a day off son. It was two blatant penalties

: The only thing that was scandalous was the way we played in the last 10 minutes. Johnnie has earned the right to take us in to the playoffs and be here next season but he needs to show more leadership than blaming the ref. Own your mistakes mate.

: Out of all the clubs up there Wimbledon are the ones I want to go up. I was expecting a defeat last night but thought Wimbledon were poor. Shows what a mess we (stfc) made of the first half of the season. Best of luck for the run in and hope you get the promotion. 🔴⚪️

: We’re fucked mate, you’ve royally fucked us, next season we’ll be even more fucked when everyone leaves for more ££££…. Absolutely pathetic

@adamafc1974: Oh fuck off, not scandalous they were penalties, we didn’t play well all game, maybe ask the question why can you not make the right subs and close out a game